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A Social Europe is where the UK should stay; Schengen area is vital

18/02/2016

The UK should stay, but EU must not be eroded in the process. This was agreed at todays meeting of the European Council meeting Prime Ministers and leaders from the Socialists and Democrats family were adamant of the necessity for the UK to stay in the EU, and were just as keen to stress that the negotiations should not precipitate a ‘slippery slope’ towards less European convergence and integration.

Sergei Stanishev, PES President said of the discussions: “If the European Union stands for one thing, it is to improve the lives of people by decreasing the inequalities between peoples and countries. I am proud that our progressive Prime Ministers will attend the Council meeting today to fight for a fair deal for the UK, and for Europe.

As Socialists and Democrats we stand for Social Europe, and the UK should stay as a part of even more social European Union where all the citizens have their equal rights.”

‘We are a Union of peoples with diverse cultures and attitudes. We should celebrate this, and work for a flexible partnership. The UK is better off in the EU and the EU is stronger with the UK among its members.’ Stanishev added.

Jeremy Corbyn, UK Labour leader attended the meeting, to discuss the deal being negotiated by President Tusk. He was assured by the progressive Prime Ministers and the President of the Party of European Socialists (PES) that the British Labour Party has their full support in campaigning to keep the UK in the EU.

Prime Ministers and leaders from the PES family discussed the latest developments of the refugee crisis. The general conclusion was that Europe is not lacking a plan to deal with the refugees, this has already been agreed upon. What the EU needs now is for countries to respect the decisions taken and implement promises on relocation and fair sharing of responsibilities.

PES President Stanishev said: “Isolating Greece will not solve the problem of refugee flows. We all need to help Greece in managing our external border to protect free movement in the Schengen area. Operational hotspots are also needed where refugees can be registered and relocated to all member states. We should support countries on the Balkan route in managing the migration flows in order to prevent more fences and walls.’